Introduction

The aim of this campaign is to raise funding for the initial development (pilot version) of a low-cost Business Continuity App solution for Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs).

There are roughly 4.5 million SMEs in the UK and about 2.7 million of these have no business continuity plan in place, however, approximately 80% of businesses affected by a major disruption or incident close within 18 months. There is no reason to believe that these figures should be significantly different for other countries and 'MisuraApp' can as such be used by any SME worldwide.

'MisuraApp' is an online business continuity planner, enabling the user to swiftly and effectively generate a bespoke business continuity plan tailored to his/her own business, and although all information is stored in the cloud, essential business critical information will still be available off-line. 'MisuraApp' comes with a free mobile phone application (iOS and Android) enabling the user to instantly access vital business information and emergency action cards should the worst happen.

Why Crowdfunding?

An initial crowdfunding will not only help to develop the pilot application, but will indeed also make evidence of that potential end users have a genuine interest in using the application for their businesses and clients.

FAQs

Aren't there already a number of these software applications available on the UK market?

Sure, there are various solutions out there, however, some are quite complex having a user interface alike a Gantt chart, some very time consuming to use, and all of them priced well above the suggested annual subscription fee of £85 for 'MisuraApp'.

What does the name 'Misura' stands for?

Misura is the Italian word for 'measure' or 'measurement'. In business continuity management you have to measure for example the 'Recovery Time Objective' (RTO), the time from where a disruption starts and until you are getting into action and doing something about it. Also the 'Work Recovery Time' (WRT) must be measured in order for you to know when your production or service is up running again. The two mesaures, RTO + WRT equals the 'Maximum Tolerable Outage' (MTO), the maximum time a business can tolerate the absence or unavailability of a particular business function.

Will the App be developed with reference to any standards?

Yes, the business continuity plan template in 'MisuraApp' is being developed with reference to the Good Practice Guidelines (GPG), the body of knowledge for good Business Continuity practice as laid out by the Business Continuity Institute.

What is Business Continuity about?

"Business Continuity (BC) is defined as the capability of the organisation to continue delivery of products or services at acceptable predefined levels following a disruptive incident. BC is often described as 'just common sense'. It is about taking responsibility for your business and enabling it to stay on course whatever storms it is forced to weather" (BCI, 2015).

Nope! My role in the development process of 'Misura' is the business continuity part and as such I am defining what the application should do and look alike. The technical development and the end design will be done by professionals contracted for purpose.

What will the funding be used for, specifically?

The gross funding target is set to £3,850, whereas roughly 10% goes to Crowdfunder.co.uk as well as to payment fees for using Stripe, GoCardless, and PayPal. The net project target is therefore £3,500 which will be used directly for development costs. The daily rate for a London based app developer ranges between £250 and £450, some cheaper and some more expensive. The funding target will as such allow for about 10 days of initial development which should be enough for a limited pilot version.

How will you get paid for your time during the development?

I will not get paid during the development phase, but I have a hard working wife :o)

How will the application be hosted?

The database and the website will be hosted on a dedicated server, where an eCommerce page will allow customers to sign up for an annual subscription fee.

How much will the MisuraApp cost?

The iOS and the Android apps are free for download and can be tested using a limited edition. When the customer has signed up for an annual subscription he/she will be assigned an account and the limited edition will be unlocked so all features can be used.

What happens after the Pilot Project is completed?

Firstly, we will celebrate and you will receive your reward!

Secondly, the purpose of the pilot project is to develop a limited edition of the software application which can be presented to equity investors, and subsequently also demonstrate that it is worth further development and investment.

Thirdly, when further investment has been achieved, the development and marketing of the final version will start.

About me

My name is Bjorn Ross, I am living in Reading just outside London, and at the time being I have a two-fold career path. Having 30 years of experience in emergency preparedness and response, I provide consultancy and advise to the oil and gas industry on emergency planning and training development & implementation. In addition hereto, I am also carrying out a PhD research study on oil spill waste management in Arctic.